Many businesses rely on spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel, marketed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., to manage critical aspects of their business processes. However, research indicates that 30% of spreadsheets contain user errors, and 1% of the cells used in those spreadsheets contain user errors. It is common for users to make mistakes when creating spreadsheets and difficult for users to recognize and correct the mistakes. Small spreadsheets are just as likely to contain errors as large spreadsheets. Spreadsheets created by more advanced users are just as likely to contain errors as those created by novices. Widespread reporting of spreadsheet error research may cause customers to question the validity of results in spreadsheets, and the use of a spreadsheet as a platform for critical applications.
Currently available spreadsheets identify impracticable calculation errors, by replacing a cell's contents with an error flag. Impracticable calculation errors are those errors that are caused by a spreadsheet formula calculation that simply cannot be made, such as a formula including a divide by zero calculation or a formula including a reference to an invalid cell. However, many spreadsheet errors exist that are not so easily identifiable. For example, some errors reside in a formula that can be calculated and represented as a value. Other errors are simply values that have been mis-entered, such as a text value that should have been entered as a number. Many spreadsheet errors are not impracticable calculation errors, but, nonetheless, result in an erroneous calculation. These errors are referred to as defective calculation errors. As such, these errors do not generate an error flag in conventional spreadsheets, but can cause serious flaws in the spreadsheet's operations. Defective calculation errors include formulas with typographical errors and numbers that are meant to be formatted as numbers, but are improperly formatted as text.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an error checker capable of recognizing spreadsheet errors and assisting in the correction of those errors. The error checker should identify both impracticable calculation errors and defective calculation errors. The help facility should also function to recommend solutions to an identified error and enable the display of more comprehensive help and debugging information regarding the error.